​Shortly after Cathy’s return to Jacksonville, we said goodbye to some of our long time drop-in’s and welcomed a host of new volunteers for a new Nomads project at Faith. The number of projects underway spanned the campus and the parsonage, making it a challenge to keep up with everything that was going on. And in the middle, we celebrated another birthday.

Hemingway checks out the ceiling in Wesley

​ Dropping In

The week before the start of the formal project had us tidying up a number of projects that had begun in December. The office addition construction was complete, but there was clean-up and some small fixes to take care of while Jim was away. But now the closet is ready for use and, to the delight of the church secretaries, the cat litter box is ensconced the in the bathroom, now dubbed the “cathouse”.

Barb painting rails on Asbury walkway with the unpopular color

​With Sandy’s and Barb’s efforts to make it happen, the walkway between Asbury and the guesthouse finally received its last brush of stain, as did the steeple deck. The color of the stain for the former was far more popular than that of the latter, so we made an effort to use the last of it on the least visible wood on the property – the rails on the bridge over the creek behind the campground. Having used that up, going forward a more palatable color was chosen for the rest of the campus. Also, in preparation for more staining going forward, all the remaining decks were bleached.

There were a number of electrical projects underway with Ron here– including stabilizing the electrical tower on the top of Wesley and removing the rope installed as a temporary counterweight in December. Herb continued his work powerwashing, moving from decks to sidewalks. By week’s end, we were sad to say goodbye to Barb and Mike who had been such an integral part of the team for almost 3 months. They were moving on to a project in Dundee, so we wished them well and looked to see them again somewhere down the road.

Damage at the parsonage before repairs

​Project Work

As the formal project started up, Cathy spent her time with 5 other team members at the parsonage. Cutting back vegetation, repairing siding, powerwashing and cleaning the exterior, along with some other small repairs kept the team busy through the first project week. And there was actually a fair amount of painting that got done as well.

Meanwhile, Dave was moving between teams at the church. Helping the new Nomads understand the work to be done, researching and ordering parts, and making many supply runs. This enabled the teams to repair several roof leaks that were continuing to elude previous repair attempts, to replace some deteriorated siding on the Asbury building, to continue solving electrical issues around campus and at the food bank, UCOM, and to diagnose a problem with one of the Air Conditioners on the top of the Wesley Hall. By week’s end, the team was feeling pretty good about what they were able to achieve.

Bent cover support PVC needing replacement

​Boat Stuff

Oh yes. We do own a boat. Since the hurricane had damaged some of the supports for the boat cover (but not the boat cover itself), we spent some time devising a new structure for the area aft of the mast. Using a combination of the bimini bows and larger PVC, we thought we could make it strong enough to survive the next storm.

Also, as we look ahead to splashing the boat in the Spring, Dave knew our flares had expired. Taking advantage of a good Black Friday sale, he took the plunge and bought a new SOS Distress signal light, which has USCG approval to replace flares. With batteries installed, it will be a permanent replacement for the flares required for visual signals by the Coast Guard.

Finally, Cathy was initially puzzled to find the bag containing our Type 5 PFD’s had split open – until she looked a little closer. The moisture in the boat had activated Dave’s automatic sensor and deployed his life jacket. As a result, we needed to “re-arm” it with a new CO2 cartridge. With the PFD re-armed and a spare in place, we are now in compliance again with our PFD’s.

​Parting Shot

Cathy saw this sign on the way to the parsonage one morning. The grammar police must not have noticed it.

​For the first time in a long time, we found ourselves in different states for a few weeks as Cathy remained behind in NC with family and Dave returned to Jacksonville to resume some volunteer work at Faith UMC. But just after the snow fell all day in NC, Cathy decided it was time to head south again, arriving in Jacksonville early on a frosty, but snow-free Friday morning – just in time to go to Clara’s.

Mom taking down Christmas decorations

Family Time

Saying goodbye on the first of January, we parted not knowing exactly when we’d see each other again. Cathy’s sister Chris needed hip replacement surgery, and we weren’t sure how her recovery would go, but Cathy wanted to stay long enough for her to feel comfortable she no longer needed the extra hands. The week before the surgery was filled with a myriad of small tasks for Cathy’s mom and enjoying some extended time with her.

Hospital humor

​On Monday, Jan 8th, Cathy relocated to Greensboro in preparation for the surgery the next morning. After a successful surgery and a brief hospital stay, Chris began her rehabilitation back in Winston-Salem at her mom’s house, working on her recovery with enthusiasm. Despite a couple of setbacks, her progress was steady and by the following week, Cathy felt she could make a day trip to visit Bonnie’s family in Emporia and Grace’s family in Wake Forest.

Birthday girl

This January marked a milestone birthday for Bonnie, so we managed to orchestrate a mini surprise party for her with husband Troy and the kids helping to keep her in the dark. Adam and Cathy made unexpected appearances and the surprise seemed to be a good one. After enjoying pizza, presents and cake, Cathy headed back to Winston by way of her sister Grace’s house. Both of her nieces and their three boys were on hand, so we had a delayed Christmas celebration with them before the marathon trip had Cathy on the road back to her bed to reflect on a memorable day.

Cathy with sisters Chris and Carolyn and their mom

Given the green light from Mom and Chris, Cathy began to plan for a return trip to Jacksonville. Her first choice was Wednesday the 17th, but a brief review of the forecast made her hedge her bets and delay until Thursday. The snow probably wouldn’t be anything, but you know how southern drivers are in bad weather.

Well. . . the snow started overnight and didn’t stop again until after sunset. This was a lot for this region and everything shut down. That is almost everything. Mom was supposed to have an appointment that morning that she had waited over 6 months for. When she called to see if the office was open, it was. That meant we were going. Imagine the looks we got when Mom arrived walking with a cane and on oxygen through the snow that had most of the doctors and patients staying home. Needless to say, she got her appointment. And with the amount of snow that had fallen, Cathy also got a reminder of what she had missed from spending so much time down south. It took several hours with snow blower and shovel to clear the driveways and sidewalks of Mom and Carolyn’s house, helping out Clint. Can’t say that it’s something she’s missed.

​By Thursday evening, the roads were mostly clear as we drove to High Point to catch the train. It was cold, but the weather was clear and the trip uneventful. The snow disappeared around the NC-SC line and the temperatures warmed a little, though not too much. Disembarking the next morning in Jacksonville, the heavy coat still felt pretty good. But thankfully, within a couple of days, it was warm enough to put it away for a while.

How the Other Half Lives​Arriving back in Jacksonville on New Year’s Day, it didn’t take long for Dave to be immersed in projects around the church. There was a smaller group of drop-in Nomads for the first week of the year. Supporting the work of this group’s work around the campus, he found himself beating a path between the church and various hardware stores or researching parts for purchase on the internet. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t getting his hands dirty. When a newly-installed water heater failed, he was under the cabinet installing the new one. By the 2nd week, another project team had arrived and the campground was full again. Dave was once again the focal point, coordinating campsites, giving tours of the campus, and coordinating activities between the drop-ins and the project team.

The cold weather in the rest of US didn’t spare Jacksonville. The campground water lines that fed all the RV’s froze when the temperatures dropped into the 20’s. On Sunday morning, when the boiler woudn’t fire for services, Dave was tasked with figuring out why. Pastor Barry said that one thing was certain. It wasn’t out of fuel. How do you know? He could see the fuel. Hmm . . . After checking other possible problems, Dave cycled back around to diesel. Are you sure there’s enough fuel? Eventually, the problem was determined to be – you guessed it – not enough fuel. The fuel pick-up sat too high for the fuel level in the tank. Adding some more diesel solved the problem. Or at least most of it. Dave’s experience maintaining the diesel engine on Orion made him suspicious of the behavior of the fuel filter. So he had Fred install a replacement and purchased a spare “just in case”. In the interim, he checks the boiler on Sunday mornings and makes sure it stays on during services.

Given the cold weather in Jacksonville, it wasn’t too much of a surprise when we got an e-mail from our friend Sue’s mom, Sandy. Spending the winter up in Rochester, she was wondering if we might be able to use some help here in Jacksonville. It would certainly be warmer than upstate NY. By mid-month, Dave had worked out a plan and she drove south to join the team already in place. Arriving just before dinner time, she had barely finished parking before she was joining the group for a trip to Captain D’s for dinner. And the next morning, Dave had her working with Barb to start staining the deck. Surely she didn’t think this would be a vacation? ,The first Sunday back, Dave went with a group of Nomads to Mt. Zion UMC, where we’ve visited in the past for the Brothers concert. This is also our friend, Ervin’s church.

Playing games at the festival

Despite the winter cold, the Spanish church hosted a planned festival for Three Kings Day. Although the larger crowds didn’t appear, those that attended had a good time, and Dave was there to help out and enjoy the festivities.

Doug from Melinda Kay buying anchor back in 2014

Boat Stuff

“The fortress anchor you sold us saved Melinda Kay”

That was the subject line of an e-mail that began to describe a harrowing experience by a couple of friends we had made in Marathon back in 2014. Moored nearby, we spent time together, watched their boat when they took a trip by car, and yes, sold them Orion’s Fortress anchor for their boat. As is the way of these things, we hadn’t seen them since. They had moved further into the Carribbean and we had moved onto our RV. But they didn’t forget us.

​​And when the e-mail arrived, we both immediately remembered them. They had found themselves in Puerto Rico, expecting it to be a safe location for the hurricane season. Only to discover that 2017 was the worst year to find their boat anchored there as Maria bore down on the island. They had to secure the boat as best they could and then leave it, hoping for the best. Weathering the storm ashore, they then had to evacuate the island without knowing the fate of their home. It was with relief they finally got the word from friends on the island. Of all the boats in the harbor, only 4 stayed secure and afloat. Melinda Kay was one of them. It was a thrilling story to hear, and one we were humbled to have a small role in.